Today we are happy to announce that VMware Advanced Load Balancer (by Avi Networks) can now seamlessly integrate with VMware Horizon and is available as an add-on license.
This is a significant performance and monitoring boost for virtual desktop interface (VDI) systems. VDIs, like VMware Horizon, give enterprises flexibility and scale by providing a software solution to provide virtual desktops and applications without the constraints of traditional hardware. The irony is that VDI systems have long relied on traditional load balancing hardware to deliver the service. Traditional load balancers are expensive, time-consuming to configure and troubleshoot, and difficult to scale — like a massive boat anchor.
Since the acquisition of Avi Networks, VMware now owns a software-defined load balancing fabric that delivers better automation and operational simplicity at a much lower cost. And this is changing the game for VMware Horizon!
How Does the VMware Horizon Integration Work for Load Balancing?
VMware Advanced Load Balancer, or Avi, includes multi-cloud load balancing, global server load balancing (GSLB), web application firewall (WAF), machine-learning-driven automation, and application analytics (over 700 metrics monitored) across any data center or cloud.
At the center of Avi’s modern architecture is the Avi Controller which manages load balancers that can be deployed for Horizon UAGs as well as Connection Servers on a granular per-tenant basis. The platform enables administrators to provision secure, multi-site VDI deployments with global and local load balancing all administered from a single controller. With the application and end-user insights and visibility included with Avi, administrators can diagnose and fix end-user experience issues with point-and-click simplicity.
Is It Really That Much Better?
Yes, absolutely.
Avi provides visibility and detailed application analytics and network performance data. For example, if an end-user is experiencing latency you can get insights that isolate the root cause of the issue instantly without the need for a tcpdump.
Additionally, Avi can seamlessly scale up and down in minutes to avoid headaches and reduce cost. Most businesses have fluctuating demand for their applications so they would have to overpay to over-provision traditional load balancers or risk the application’s availability by not having enough load balancing resources — which can take weeks to acquire, configure, and deploy. Because Avi is a load balancing fabric that is 100% software, you have a load balancer that scales at the speed of your business.
Since the acquisition of Avi, many enterprises have begun making the switch to a modern, software-defined load balancing system, including VMware itself. The operational improvements and cost reduction have been so compelling that Avi is now VMware’s preferred load balancer for Horizon.
“Avi helped us deliver a large VDI deployment in a day instead of weeks with legacy load balancers. It saves costs, simplifies ops, and gives us great app and client insights.”
Swapnil Hendre
Director of Solutions Engineering and Design, VMware IT
The VMware Horizon Integration with VMware Advanced Load Balancer provides new benefits and functionality, including:
- Superior experience for VDI applications quickly while reducing network infrastructure required.
- Dynamic, on-demand autoscaling seamlessly scales to deliver virtual desktops and apps in any data center or cloud.
- Pinpoint analytics and end-user insights simplifies troubleshooting and resolution of end-user computing (EUC) issues.
- Simplified operations and faster deployments by managing through centralized controller.
VMware Advanced Load Balancer solves the last mile challenges of your digital transformation.
To learn more about Avi in VDI environments, please visit the VMware Horizon Load Balancing solution page or reach out to your VMware contact.
